Sunday, March 18, 2007

The first steps

I'm thinking of heading down a particular path. Without doubt, some people will criticize me; citing that as a student, my responsibility is to study. That is true, of course. But there are other things at this moment, aside from studying, that is important in shaping my character in the future.

I could not bear the thought that, in the thousands of students of universities only few are aware of the importance of character making at their stage. It is a very scary thought that the others will not realise this, and thus graduate from the university without any thought of the country. Not patriotism, but the other 'p'.

Allow me to walk you through the examples. How many are aware that they actually have a right to vote candidates to the city council, a right that is currently denied to them? How many could argue about the increasing moral policing in the country? Again, do they realise that only they themselves could change the very things that they are complaining about such as the inefficient bureaucracy, the racial discrimination and the corrupt leaders? How many?

A university, no, the university is where undergraduates should realise what their rights and 'p' leanings are. They should be aware that they are able to fix the injustices that they see daily. Instead, most of them are, for a lack of a better word, ignorant. They are not to be completely blamed tough, since there is an act that made it illegal for students to participate in 'p' activities. What is meant by a 'p' activity is questionable. Even participating in a demonstration for cleaner public toilers or animal rights could land you in trouble, given the vague definition.

Let us return to the opening sentences. I'm thinking of this path not because of the privileges and things that naturally comes with it entails, but because it seemed to me that no one is going to. If it seems that I will walk this path alone, so be it. I could not bear to seen the ruin of my home, my country.